FASGI TURNS OVER MORE KULAMAN LIMESTONE BURIAL ARTIFACTS TO THE NMP

The National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) received eight (8) additional Kulaman limestone burial artifacts from the Filipino-American Service Group Inc. (FASGI), marking another milestone in the ongoing repatriation of the artifacts from the Sally von dem Hagen Philippine collection.

The turnover was held in April 2026 and hosted by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Cotsen Institute of Archaeology. Director-General Jeremy Barns and Dr. Marrianne Ubalde, Director of the National Museum of Anthropology, represented the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP). The event was attended by Consul Levy Manalaysay of the Philippine Consulate in Los Angeles; Dean Abel Valenzuela of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology; Dr. Stephen Acabado; other representatives from the Institute and the Fowler Museum; and members of the Filipino overseas community. While arrangements for the shipment to the Philippines are being finalized, the UCLA Cotsen Institute of Archaeology will serve as the temporary custodian of the objects.

It may be recalled that in May 2024, 52 Kulaman limestone burial jars were successfully repatriated to the Philippines through a donation from Mrs. von dem Hagen’s children, with the assistance of FASGI and Dr. Stephen Acabado of UCLA. Originally acquired in the 1970s from the Dulangan Manobo in the Kulaman Plateau of Cotabato, the collection was kept by Mrs. von dem Hagen in the United States for more than four decades. While most of the collection has since been returned to the Philippines, several pieces are believed to have been sold or gifted to collectors and enthusiasts abroad.

The NMP expresses its deep appreciation to its partners and collaborators – FASGI, the Philippine Consulate in Los Angeles, and Dr. Stephen Acabado and his team at the UCLA Cotsen Institute of Archaeology – for facilitating the return of these objects to the Philippines.

Once repatriated, these objects will be reunited with the rest of the collection for public exhibition and further research by the NMP Archaeology Division, in collaboration with partner institutions and concerned communities.